Wild West 2.0: How to Protect and Restore Your Online Reputation on the Untamed Social Frontier

110 Wild West 2.0

maintains that the story is true but insists that he never intended

such severe consequences for a student who suffered a temporary

lapse of judgment on what was ultimately an inconsequential school

assignment.

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It remains an open question whether such strong vigilante en-

forcement of social norms is beneficial. It certainly encourages social

compliance. There is a very strong disincentive to misbehave if, at any

moment, one faces the risk of permanent damage to one’s reputation

for violating a public norm. And there are many norms worthy of

strong enforcement: The self-explanatory “New York Subway Mas-

turbator” committed a contemptible act deserving of punishment

and deterrence. But it is not clear that the violation of smaller